Thoughts on Gay Marriage

My wife and I were talking about government a few nights ago and how the federal government’s checks and balances are partly in place to assure the rights of minorities as well as to prevent any faction, or minority, from having total control. When it comes to gay marriage, let us ignore the moral argument for a moment, even though it is far more important, and consider the logical one. The United States census of 2000 placed the national population at 281,421,906. Of these, 600,000 claimed that status of same-sex couples. The National Health and Social Life Survey, the most accepted study with data on the U.S. gay population, puts the number at about 6 million or 2.1%. Why does such a small percentage of the national population get to decide what marriage should be? The Sentencing Project now puts the U.S. prison population at 2.1 million or 0.7%. That’s a lot of people. Why shouldn’t they be able to decide what a crime is? At what point do you let the minority decide for everyone on what is fair? There are more poor people in the U.S. than gays. There are more uninsured. How can gays justify that their issue is the most important and the way it should be? Checks and balances are still in place in the government, but those holding the scales are afraid of the vocal gay backlash and are not letting the scales be read. The courts are there to uphold the Constitution and interpret the law, not define American social structure. The courts, like everyone else is caving to a vocal special interest group, that in no way represents the American people. In fact, the only reason they have so much media attention and coverage is because they are different and go against the norm.

This is great analysis, Dave! You’re exactly right. So why is it that 2% of our populace can make such waves and scare our representatives/judges into caving? Where are the other 98% of us–and why aren’t we making waves?